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                               ^6@2 S.B.E.@

                            ^4[2 L.P.D. 40.[0

                       ^4{6 By The Blitter Boys.{

                      ^1[5 Reviewed by Len Tucker.[0

^2.............................oooOOOooo...............................

^6 As soon as you load ^2[2SPRITE BANK EDITOR,[0^6 you get the impression that
^6you are seeing something special. 

^7 The commercial quality graphics are supplied by the enormously
^7talented Stoo Cambridge. The highly professional panels and display
^7suggest that if so much trouble was taken over the display, then the
^7program must be something special.

^6 The first screen you see is divided into three sections.

^4 On the left are the three disk control areas, for loading and saving
^4bobs. The section to the right displays the system information such
^4as free memory and the number of bobs in a bank.  The centre section
^4houses the nucleus of the program where you can manipulate the bob
^4banks.

^2 To load in a bank, just click on the `load' icon and you will be
^2presented with one of the most professional file requesters I have
^2seen. The layout and the graphics are superb. On the left is a list
^2of available devices and on the right is a list of the files. The
^2default file type is .abk, so only these will be displayed, and as
^2opposed to[2 AMOS's[0 file requester, if you leave the requester, then
^2return, the directory will still be there, which would have been a
^2good point to add to the[2 AMOS[0 version.

^6 If you click on the sprites directory, you will be able to load in
^6any bank from a list of sprites, all of which would not look out of
^6place in commercially released games and  which are supplied for you
^6to use in your own programs. However, if you do use them, be sure to
^6credit them to Stoo.

^5 Once you have selected your sprite bank, select `edit' from the
^5central part of the panel. Now you are in the main workshop of the
^5program, you will have seen a lot of Vinni's talent in the requester,
^5but this is the part of the program where his ability really comes
^5into its own.
 
^7 This is split into two areas. You have access to the top part, which
^7is the control panel. The lower part of the screen is where the
^7source and destination of the bobs are displayed.

^6 The control panel is split into four sections, discribed here from
^6left to right.

^2 The first has the block controllers with arrows indicating the start
^2and end of the blocks. This allows you to cut out a section of your
^2source bobs and place them in your destination bank, a very handy
^2feature.

^1 The second part is where the copying process is controlled. There
^1are four buttons,^6[2 BLOCK CUT[0^1 - cuts a block specified in block
^1start/end.

^6[2 CUT[0 -^5 cuts a single image and upends it to the destination
^5bank.

^4 Next is ^6[2INSERT[0 ^4which puts a bob into the destination bank as
^4specified by the destination number.

^4 Finally^6 [2DELETE[0^4 - deletes the current image from the destination
^4bank.

^7 The next section shows individual sprites both in the source and
^7destination banks which allows you to create each specific sprite on
^7either the source or the destination.

^2 That's the description done, now, what purpose does it have?

^6 My first thoughts on seeing^2[3 S.B.E.[0^6 - apart from being impressed with
^6the way it looks - were about what it could be used for, as you
^6cannot alter sprites with it. Then someone turned on the light and it
^6all seemed so obvious! It will save me hours and hours of time!
 
^4 It lets you create a bob bank fo your current masterpiece from
^4existing sprite banks with just the click of a few buttons!

^7 Until I saw this program, all my sprites were stored on IFF screens,
^7and I cut them out as needed. This meant that they also had to be
^7repositioned every time I needed them, but now this program has
^7changed my method of storing sprites. 

^5 I will now store all my sprites as sprite banks, with each bank
^5holding a specific character e.g. a spaceship, man etc. all saved
^5with a descriptive name. Eventually I hope to build up a library disk
^5of sprites all ready to put into games. This program will merge the
^5files I need into one bank within minutes.

^6 So I don't think you're in for a treat if you buy this disk,
^2                             [3I KNOW IT![0
^6 Going by the `about' button on the first panel, we're in for more
^6treats soon as the Blitter Boys have more projects in mind, hopefully
^6of the same high standard.

^4I've been right through the program, and there is nothing in it that
^4lets you know that it was written with[2 AMOS,[0 not even the standard
^4file requester! It is fully compiled for optimum speed, which is what
^4the compiler shines at.

^2 There's only one thing left to say -

                          ^3[3B U Y  I T ! ! ![0

^1 P.S. I just pressed the exit button after writing (I usually just
^1      reset) and what a surprise, a little goody!!!
^1      Remember I said that there are sprites on the disk that you can
^1use? Well, here at the end of this excellent program are demos of the
^1graphics in action!!
    
^2 What a nice touch!!

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